american politics are. in year 12 of this war. nobody is outraged by the prospect of it being all the way over. balloon down. "first look" is up next. good friday morning. right now on "first look," vice president joe biden readies his gun control recommendations for president obama. major concern among top military brass that budget cuts and hiring freezes could create a department of defense with a hollow force. government sting. the dea set up our own secret service agents with prostitutes. all that, plus, the growing flu epidemic, one year after the costa concordia accident, and the return of the water skiing squirrel. good morning. vice president biden continues to hold meetings as the head of the administration's gun control traffic force. biden met with gun control

advocates as well as retailers. while participants described the meetings as open and frank, the nra had harsh words for the president afterwards. >> the administration was able to check the box and say they'd talked to the representatives of firearms owners and the groups that support the second amendment. now they were going to try to proceed with what they wanted to do. >> as those meetings were taking place, another school shooting. this one at a high school in rural california. one student was wounded and a 16-year-old suspect was taken into custody. back in washington later today, biden meets with members of the video game industry. he'll present his recommendations to the president on tuesday. this terrible flu season continues. people are now rushing to get their flu shots. dr. nancy snyderman reports the demand is leading to a vaccine shortage in some areas. >> reporter: the cdc says 128

million doses have been delivered. only 135 million have been made. this year's flu is especially virulent and can sprnt spread quickly. you can be exposed to the virus six feet away from a person. once you are infected, it's easy to pass it on to family and co-workers, even before you have symptoms. an adult can be contagious 24 hours before they feel ill and make others sick to a week afterward. children may be contagious longer than a week. >> in addition to getting a flu shot, doctors recommend frequently cleaning your hands and the areas around you. here's a disturbing fact. the average desk at work is reportedly 400 times dirtier than the average toilet seat. well, the fda is ordering the makers of ambien and other drugs to cut the dosage in half. the drug can stay in the bloodstream at high enough levels to make it difficult to drive and concentrate the next morning. women metabolize sleeping pills

more slowly than men. the fda has received more than 700 reports of driving related mishaps related to sleep aids. leon panetta is moving to prepare for drastic military cuts if congress can't reach a deal an a budget. he's ordered cost cutting measures including delaying contracts and a freeze on hiring. they agree that u.s. military readiness should not be affected. >> this fiscal uncertainty has become a very serious threat to our national security. >> readiness is what's now in jeopardy. we're on the drink of creating a hollow force, the very thing we said we must avoid. >> secretary panetta said he intends to exempt u.s. troops from any cuts. afghan president karzai is in the middle of his visit to the u.s. he met with hillary clinton.

they talked about handing off afghan forces as well as preparations for elections next year. at one point, secretary clinton joked about secretary panetta's plans to retire to his walnut farm in california. >> secretary panetta, in addition to his many years of service, is at heart a walnut. >> clinton and panetta had a private dinner can karzai at the state department. karzai meets with president obama today. well, there's new information about last year's secret service scandal involving prostitutes in colombia. according to a justice department investigation obtained by nbc news, two u.s. drug enforcement agents facilitated a sexual encounter between a prostitute and secret service agent just days before president obama's sit in april. the findings revealed the agents tried to destroy incriminating evidence. the case has been referred to the dea. louisiana governor bobby jindal has desclared a state of emergency after a severe weather

system rolled across the state. the real misery, that's coming from flooding. much of the state has been soaked by a slow-moving storm system. and now here's your first look at this morning's dish of scrambled politics. former republican vice presidential nominee paul ryan might be in or out of the 2016 presidential race. congressman ryan told the wisconsin state journal that for now, quote, i've decided not to decide. ohio governor john kasich held a photo op thursday with some cute puppies. he signed a bill into law that creates new regulations on the care of animals housed in large breeding establishments. newark, new jersey, mayor cory booker, who is now an outspoken advocate for gay rights wrote a paper in 1992

talking about the disgust and latent hostility he once felt toward gay people. president obama will take the oath of office with his hand placed on two bibles. one was owned by abraham lincoln, the other by dr. martin luther king jr. and a follow-up on jack liu's loopy signature. president obama took a moment to joke about it. >> i never noticed jack's signature. when this was highlighted yesterday in the press, i considered rescinding my offer to appoint him. jack assures me that he is going to work to make at least one letter legible. >> and that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. and now for a look at the national weather, we turn to nbc meteorologist dillon drier. >> good morning, i kind of like the signature. >> it's an individual thing. let the man do what he does. >> good for him.

it's plastered all over everything. >> it's unique. >> we're going to see a lot more rain through areas this time around in the great lakes. yesterday it was all about louisiana. they did pick up several inches of rain. we also had tornado warnings all the through the state yesterday morning. we are seeing that heavy rain moving up across the great lakes. michigan and ohio and chicago area and also indiana will be the ones dealing with the heaviest of the rain. although, it is starting to exit chicago. that should help alleviate any travel troubles that could have been caused out there early this morning. it's a pretty strong system. it's a very slow moving system. that's why we did end up with so much flooding across louisiana. now it's going to sit through indiana and ohio for a little while through the day today. so we could see several inches of rain out that way. a closer look shows you the heavy rain is located all across the northern peninsula of michigan. we have those thunderstorms right now through indianapolis, down through louisville, kentucky, and we will see those slowly spread eastward through

the morning and into this afternoon as well. as for rainfall totals, it does look like we will see a swath from western tennessee through western kentucky, right up into ohio where we could end up with 2 to 3 inches of rain. it's all about temperatures with this system, too. out ahead of it it's real mild. back behind it, it's really cold. look at the next few days in chicago. today is a around 58. tomorrow is 53. all of the sudden on sunday, temperatures crash into the mid-20s. we stay there heading into early next week. but washington, d.c., it's the exact opposite. out ahead of this system, we will see a few late-day showers in d.c. today. 49 degrees. then 59. then 68 degrees by sunday. even as we head into next week, it should still stay mild and at least above average, especially for monday and tuesday. we are looking at temps this weekend to be about 15 to 20 degrees above average all across the east coast. it does come with some clouds, but i think people will be happy about the temperatures. >> i love it when you bring us good news.

thanks. well, stocks rock as the s&p hits a five-year high. an update on the stranded whales. and thousands of white-collar jobs coming to the u.s. plus, nbc's michelle kosinski is in italy why the kosta concordia ran aground. ♪ ♪ pop goes the world pop in a whole new kind of clean with tide pods. just one pac has the stain removal power of six caps of the bargain brand. pop in. stand out.

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welcome back. here are some other stories making news this morning. in colorado, james holmes will be tried in the aurora theater rampage that left 12 people dead and another 70 wounded. defense lawyers said they were not ready to enter a plea and are expected to use an insanity defense. in canada, 11 killer whales that were locked in by ice with only a small area of water to surface and breathe, they're now free. a change in water current may have helped break open the ice. a worried looking south carolina governor and her family said a tearful good-bye to her husband as he departed with his national guard unit aft.

and a very big snake wedged itself on to a plane but was fighting winds of 250 miles per hour and did not survive the flight. an sunday, it will be one year since the italian luxury cruise liner the costa concordia ran aground. preparations are under way for a memorial at the half sunken ship. michelle kosinski is here with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. people are already starting to arrive here on the island for that service on sunday. it always amazes people to see that, yes, the ship is still here in the exact same position it was. what has changed is you can see the enormous structures that salvage crews have built around it. they are working 24 hours a day, seven days a week to prepare to finally roll it over upright and float it out of here, probably not until the fall.

but you know what? today you talk to the survivors of that wreck, and for them, the emotional aspect is just as present, just as large. there's still a lot of anger toward the company that this happened at all and they say for the way they were treated after the wreck. so on sunday there will be a memorial service for the 32 who did not make it off this ship safely. among them, an american couple, a little girl, a woman on her honeymoon. as part of the service, there will be a moment of silence, a mass, and then crews will take the boulder that the ship struck that caused that enormous gash and put it back in the sea in the place where it originally was. >> all right, michelle. thank you so much. stocks on a roll as the s&p hits a five-year high. big news on the aviation front. later this morning, the faa will hold a news conference announcing it will review the latest electrical issues related to the boeing 787 dreamliner. the new plane experienced three problems this week alone,

including an electrical fire. good news coming from ford, which plans to hire 2200 new white collar workers, including engineers and computer programmers. the hiring will happen this year as demand for new vehicles is picking up. bad news coming from american express, which plans to shave about 5400 jobs. most from its travel business as more customers book trips online. scholastic has donated about 1 million new books to schools in new york and new jersey that were ravaged by hurricane sandy. did shell oil move a rig? shell is denying the accusations saying that the rig was moved because of weather conditions. and if you haven't started planning your summer vacation, you better get started. according to flipkey.com, inquiries for summer property rentals have risen 40% just the past month alone. tim tebow snubbed again.

reverend al sharpton teams up with tyler perry on a cold case. plus, turning on your faucets only to find flammable water. details coming up next. you're watches "first look" on msnbc. using cloud computing and mobile technology, verizon innovators have developed a projective display for firefighters. allowing them to see through anything. because the world's biggest challenges deserve even bigger solutions. powerful answers. verizon.

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you'll have the knowledge to advance your career while making a difference in the lives of patients. let's get started at capella.edu. we replaced people with a machine.r, what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally. it's a yearly favorite. video of the water skiing squirrel. twiggy will be performing at the boat show in denver this weekend. rumor has it she'll be sporting a denver broncos life jacket.

she's awfully cute. here's your first look at some other news going on. we start in western pennsylvania where police believe a squabble between two students turned into a full scale brawl. authorities were tipped off by a youtube video that showed students and adults throwing blows. multiple arrests have been made. in ohio, a combustible water supply has turned one home into a recipe for disaster. the family discovered elevated levels of methane and chloride. investigators are stumped since there are no signs of water come tam nation in neighboring homes. in ohio, surveillance cameras a the a gas station captured a vicious beating. a masked roper battered the store clerk before getting away with $200 and lottery tickets. the reverend al sharpton, tyler perry, and the naacp are calling on the public to help find two missing men.

>> anybody else who wants to say anything or speak out about this will be safe. >> perry is offering a $100,000 reward for information on the men who both disappeared ten years ago. finally, in indianapolis, a rooster hanging out downtown gave animal control officers quite the headache. ♪ the elusive fowl was eventually captured. no word on who it belongs to. in sports, we start with a big upset in college basketball. number 4 arizona was surprised by unranked oregon who led most of the way. arizona surged in the fourth quarter, but oregon held on for a 70-66 upset. major league baseball is expanding drug testing with blood tests during the season for human growth hormone and other performance enhancing drugs. there's official confirmation that former nfl star junior seau had cte, a con

jenti ti jen -- tim tebow will not be playing for his hometown jacksonville jaguars next season. the team's new general manager said he can't imagine a scenario in which tebow will be a jacksonville jaguar, even if he is released by the new york jets. the nfl playoffs this weekend start saturday with baltimore playing in denver against peyton manning and the broncos and green bay will be at san francisco. on sunday, seattle visits the top-seeded atlanta falcons. houston will be at new england. and in hawaii at the pga sony open, a tee shot on the par three 17th hole. his ball lands on top of another ball. that's a shot you don't see every day. and now for another look at the weather. here's nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer. >> it's nice to be here.

we are going to see a really nice weekend across the east coast. elsewhere, it is going to cool off quite a bit. we've got 13 degrees in billings, montana, where the snow continues to fall. that whole area stretching down into salt lake city. we could end up with another 6 to 10 inches of snow with that snowstorm going on out that way. on the eastern half of the country, it's the opposite. a little bit of rain. we have temperatures already in the lower 60s in atlanta. 62 in orlando. it is a little cool right now in the northeast. 32 in boston. 38 right now in new york city. we'll rebound to above average temperatures this afternoon. that rain across new york city and washington, d.c., it's really going to lighten up. granted, we had very heavy rains. several inches of rain across louisiana yesterday. today we'll see several inches of rain, especially through indiana and ohio. but by the time it moves into the northeast, we're just looking at a few scattered showers. it's more about the temperatures. 52 in washington, d.c. today. 64 in kansas city. look at how temperatures change

tomorrow. 21 in minneapolis on saturday. 36 in kansas city. but 62 in washington, d.c. in fact, the nation's capital will be close to 70 degrees by sunday and even in the northeast we should see a lot of 60s showing up on the maps. so it's not going to be all that sunny in the northeast, but at least it will be mild. >> that's unbelievable. 60 degrees in january. >> it's awesome. i love it. >> thank you. justin bieber has a doppleganger. and justin tim ber lake and beyonce have big plans to share with everyone. you're watching "first look." [ male announcer ] rocky had no idea why dawn was gone for so long...

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obama's nominee for treasury

secretary jack lew is facing criticism because his signature, which will appear on the dollar bill, is complete lly illegible. look at his signature. this is real. in response, lew is like, i will fix this or my name is -- there's some political news here. president obama recently came under fire from republicans over the lack of diversity in his cabinet. then obama said, you guys know i'll be there too, right? well, it's time for other entertainment news. it's the cia versus the lapd at the box office this weekend. after being in limited release for the past few weeks "zero dark thirty" is going wide, fresh off its five oscar nominations. but "gangster squad" may take first place this weekend thanks to box office draws ryan gosling and emma stone. so what does 9-year-old

quvenzhane wallis want to do now that she's nominated for on can oscar? what any other 9-year-old would want to do. go on a shopping spree and eat pizza. justin bieber may have a dopplpganger. and justin timberlake and beyonce both announced new music is headed our way. timberlake's new album could be months or years away, but beyonce shocked destiny's child fans announcing her new record will be out january 29th. as a beyonce fan, this makes me happy. anything new from her makes me happy. >> even if it's old stuff, it's still good. >> i go through withdrawals. well, this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early" starts right

now. there's jack lew's signature. we could have a pretty ugly signature on our dollar bill. >> i mean, is this even a signature? or did he start drawing charlie brown and give up after the hair? good grief. and it got no better when lew explained his fiscal philosophy saying, quote, i describe budgets as tapestry. when it's woven together, it completes our hopes and dreams of a nation. >> i tried. still doesn't even look good. good morning and welcome